Phone for 9.5K · DIGIT-ARC

1. Budget - 9500

2. Display type and size? Nothing Specific

3. Form Factor? bar, slider, flip? Bar

4. Preferred choice of brand? HTC,Samsung,LG only

5. Preferred input method (QWERTY, touchscreen, numpad, touch-n-type). Touch

6. What camera option you want? Please specify need for flash, autofocus, front facing camera. Atleast 3.2 MP rear

7. Preferred operating system? (Android, Symbian, iOS, Windows Phone etc). Android Only

8. Preferred connectivity options (3G, Wifi etc)Please specify clearly. 3G and Wifi

9. Preferred applications (Flash, Swype, GPS, etc)? Nothing Specific

10. Primary use of handset (multimedia, camera, mails, internet, gaming etc)? Multimedia

11. Any specific mobile phones in consideration? HTC Explorer, LG Optimus Net

12.Queries
(1) Will Optimus Net's 832 Mhz processor make a big difference against Explorer's 600 Mhz?
(2) Will either of Optimus Net or Explorer be getting ICS 4 update ever?

Thanks in advance.

HTC explorer would be one to get. Optimus net not that bad. If it doent get android 4 you can always install custom rom :wink:

get explorer, if you dont find explorer then get optimus net....

queries-
1. explorer 600mhz proccessor is better and faster than 800mhz processor of net due to scorpion chipset in explorer....

2. none of these phone will get official ICS update...

First of all thanks for the replies.

I would like to know if there are any existing phones that are going to get ICS or any upcoming phones shipping with ICS that fall within my budget because I like the ICS features very much.

Although custom roms are an option but I'm not the kind of guy who messes with the phone before its warranty period is over.

no... afaik there is no phone under 10k that will get official ICS update...
the confirmed cheapest phone with official ICS update is sony experia mini for about 12.5k....

Get Explorer its a great phone,and it will get ICS update.
No phone in your budget comes with ICS out of the box.

aroraanant said:
Get Explorer its a great phone,and it will get ICS update.
No phone in your budget comes with ICS out of the box.

No ics update, confirmed by HTC.

The Optimus Net's price dropped to 8999/- with 300/- cash back at Flipkart!

darnee said:
(1) Will Optimus Net's 832 Mhz processor make a big difference against Explorer's 600 Mhz?

nope. the processor on Explorer is better than most 600-800Mhz processors found on similar mobiles.

darnee said:
(2) Will either of Optimus Net or Explorer be getting ICS 4 update ever?

no. none of sub 10k mobiles will get ICS update. even only a few selected sub 15k mobiles are expected to get the new android update. but with communities like XDA developers working on custom rom that are free of bloatwares, one shouldn't care much about things like update.

Thanks for your replies.

If I want to get ICS within 10K then what is the approx amount of time I have to wait?
Also which are the companies which have announced ICS handsets.

another 6-8months. those will be ICS packing mobiles.

Thanks Sam for the clarification.
So now that ICS is out of the equation, I'd like to go for the HTC Explorer. Some last minute queries before purchase:-

1. Is there any other mobile from any other brand that I must look at before making a purchase?

2. Should I get a screen guard for the explorer. As per what I know explorer does not have Gorilla glass. My only worry is whether a screen guard will reduce the touch sensitivity?

3. Are tradus.in and sulekha.com trustable websites for making an online purchase? Although I have made online purchases before, I don't know much about these sites as my previous purchases were from flipkart and letsbuy.

Once again thanks for all the replies.

darnee said:
1. Is there any other mobile from any other brand that I must look at before making a purchase?

only other mobile is LG Optimus Net/Dual.

darnee said:
2. Should I get a screen guard for the explorer. As per what I know explorer does not have Gorilla glass. My only worry is whether a screen guard will reduce the touch sensitivity?

if it doesn't have one, get one. but not the el cheapo local one.

darnee said:
3. Are tradus.in and sulekha.com trustable websites for making an online purchase? Although I have made online purchases before, I don't know much about these sites as my previous purchases were from flipkart and letsbuy.

tradeus, i have no idea but no to sulekha.

I have recently bought Explorer from Tradus for a friend of mine.
They are good.

aroraanant said:
I have recently bought Explorer from Tradus for a friend of mine.
They are good.

In the explorer you bought from tradus, what are the things included in the retail package? It is not specified in their website. Also how do you choose the color of the phone in their website?

Tradus seems to have many negative reviews, proceed with caution.
TRADUS.IN Reviews, TRADUS.IN Online Shopping, Shopping Site, Information, Frauds, Security - MouthShut.com

My friend was not bothered about the cololr but I guess you can choose the color by calling them on the phone.
The retail boz contains the charge and the manual apart from the phone

But no earphones

^^ and no datacable too? thats some serious price cutting measure.

Thanks for all your replies.

As per your advice I have bought the HTC Explorer from Univercell (Bangalore) for 9200.

The phone looks solid and the touch is simply amazing.

Thanks you all once again.

@Sam: Datacable and charger are the same (detachable adapter).

Congrats for your new purchase.
But you could have bought it for 8k from ebay or tradus or from any other place

darnee said:
Thanks for all your replies.

As per your advice I have bought the HTC Explorer from Univercell (Bangalore) for 9200.

The phone looks solid and the touch is simply amazing.

Thanks you all once again.

@Sam: Datacable and charger are the same (detachable adapter).

congrats.

well HTC has tried everything to keep the price down without degrading the mobile itself. others should learn from this, specially Samsung.

I don't like the build quality of Samsung phones, same old look of all the phones whether it is a wave which costs around 5-6k or a galaxy R which costs around 23k, and that plasticy look really bad in front of the HTC metal or feature touch look.
Ya I know some people call me here HTC Fanboy but it is on personall taste.
All friends of mine feel the same, and they prefer HTC over Samsung.

I haven't experienced/used any high end phone of LG, so can't comment on that.

aroraanant said:
Congrats for your new purchase.
But you could have bought it for 8k from ebay or tradus or from any other place

Initially I thought of buying from them but because of two reasons I went to Univercell.

1. I had to receive the product myself so as to verify contents which did not seem possible except on weekends. I sent a query regarding this to a seller on ebay but did not receive any reply.

2. Univercell was offering Reebok Sunglasses as a complimentary gift with every smartphone purchase which I was thinking of buying.

P.S: The sunglasses are original Reebok and box shows the MRP as 2999/- (LOL).

And those original sunglasses with same price tag are available in market for around 300-600 bucks

Congrats enjoy